Easter is one of my favorite times to gather with family and celebrate both Jesus’s resurrection and the arrival of spring. With my children still young enough for Easter bunny visits, it’s also a bit magical, so I really love going all out. I want their memories of holidays to be special and full of tradition. Plus, I love menu planning and table setting and all that goes along with entertaining! BUT I also want to enjoy the day myself…

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and Passover weekend! For us, Easter is always such a special time to come together and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior, and rejoice in the dawning of a new spring season. It is such a joy to see everyone in their most beautiful pastel frocks at church and to watch the children’s sweet faces as they eagerly learn about Christ’s resurrection. Of course it would be remiss not to mention their excitement over the Easter Bunny and the delicious fruits of their egg hunting labors!

This year, we decided to celebrate Easter by having a brunch and egg hunt at home after morning church services. Brunch is one of our favorite meals to serve when we are hosting parties. After all, it is rare you find anyone, adults and kids alike, who doesn’t love bacon, pastries, and juice (with or without Prosecco)!

Brown sugar bacon crackers are always a hit, no matter whether you serve them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner! They are deliciously addicting and one of the easiest things you’ll ever create in the kitchen. To make these yummy treats, simply line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and arrange club crackers on the sheet. Cut bacon into fourths and place a slice of bacon on top of each cracker. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over each cracker, and bake at 300 for about 45 minutes. Some recipes will tell you to drain them on paper towels. I did this once, and it made a huge mess because the paper towels stuck to the bottom of the crackers. It’s not necessary to drain them; the crackers soak everything up, which is part of why they are so yummy! You really won’t believe how incredible these little treats are!

In my opinion, breakfast casseroles are a no-brainer for brunch parties. Most all of them can be (and should be) made the night before, so you can pop them into the oven to cook while everyone arrives. The basic blueprint for most of these dishes is the same: torn bread placed in a casserole dish, topped with cooked crumbled sausage or bacon, and covered with a mixture of beaten eggs, milk, and cheese. My most recent discovery is this combination of croissants, sausage, parmesan cheese, Gruyere cheese, and green onions. I think the nutty cheeses and buttery croissants in this casserole send it over the top and make it taste extra special!

Spray a 9X13 baking dish with nonstick spray and arrange torn croissants in the bottom. Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium, stirring to crumble, until no longer pink. Toss with Parmesan and 5 sliced green onions, and spread mixture over the croissants. Whisk eggs together with milk, and pour over the sausage mixture. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle the Gruyere over the top of the casserole, and top with remaining sliced green onion. Bake 45 minutes or until set and golden.

Enjoy!

We always have a good time setting the tables, and the kids’ table is no exception! These precious melamine Easter egg plates with Peter Rabbit quotes and white plates serving as chargers were a big hit. We used stuffed rabbits from my daughter’s room, and the kids were thrilled to have a dessert centerpiece. That made decorating super easy! We also had a platter of Rice Krispie Treat nests filled with Cadbury mini eggs (the absolute best candies in the whole world!). I browned the butter and added a pinch of sea salt when making these, and it quickly turned them into a dessert fit for the most sophisticated of palates!

No great bash is complete without a party foul or two, and I can take all of the credit for this one. I love making blueberry muffins, and they are usually pretty foolproof. This weekend, however, I just wasn’t on my game and completely forgot to spray the muffin pan with nonstick spray. I also overfilled them, so the whole thing was a big mess. Not to be defeated, though, I decided to just go with it, and instead we had blueberry muffin parfaits with Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries on top!

A fun time was had by all — as you can see, the kids didn’t even mind being in their “fancy clothes,” at least for a short while anyway! It was the perfect way to celebrate this holiest of days!

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” — John 11:25-26